VendableThe Vendio eCommerce Blog

Just in time for your spring cleaning closet purge, eBay has come out with a new consignment program called “Sell It Forward” — and it seems few people have heard about it.

The “Sell it Forward” concept is cool on many levels. eBay and Goodwill have partnered up to sell items that you mail in. Once Goodwill gets your items, they have 14 days to list and sell them. They’ll sell what they can and will deposit 50% of the proceeds into your PayPal account. What doesn’t sell, Goodwill keeps as a donation, and you will be mailed a receipt to use for tax purposes. How great is that?

Ebay members (or even non-members) can go to eBay’s Sell It Forward page to get a postage pre-paid mailer that can be used to mail “gently worn” clothes or handbags from USPS or UPS.

This might not be the best way to sell, say, expensive cashmere sweaters or valuable vintage items, but it sounds like a great way to get some of those nice but non-designer items out of your closet that you don’t want anymore or haven’t been able to sell. Keep in mind that Goodwill has to approve your items, so sending stained or ripped items is just going to waste everyone’s time.

This new consignment program is currently only being offered in the San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties in California, and hopefully they will eventually expand it to other areas of the country. This is a great program to provide a little extra cash in your pocket, and Goodwill uses the donations to help people find meaningful jobs and contribute to their communities. It sounds like a win-win for everybody!

About our Guest Blogger
This guest post was contributed by Kat Simpson. Kat is a trusted eCommerce author, speaker, educator, and entrepreneur. Kat Simpson has been a successful eCommerce merchant for over 10 years; is an eBay Education Specialist and Gold Level PowerSeller, as well as a successful Amazon merchant. Currently Kat is the hosts the popular weekly eCommerce Podcast That Kat Radio.